Why does Disney make it hard for larger families?

Mark Vines

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 27, 2016
I am married with a step-daughter (16), two sons (10 & 8), one adopted son (5) and two foster daughters (15 months and 4 months). That first and last family trip we took was in December of 2013. Unfortunately, I did not know about this site at the time and hadn’t discovered the DIS Unplugged podcast as well. In fact, that trip did not go as well as I had hoped because I wasn’t as prepared as I wish I had been. When I got back I promised myself I would do the research before planning our next trip. That is when I came across the DIS Unplugged YouTube page and my addiction began!


I am now looking to plan a Disney World trip this upcoming fall but find it difficult to plan the trip and stay on Disney property considering my options are limited unless I am able to spend a ridiculous amount of money (which I cannot). I do realize that if we stay offsite we will spend less money but if I am going to plan a trip for the family we will want to stay onsite. Mainly because of theming but also for the convenience factor, free parking (we will drive to Orlando), fast pass selections and the possibility of free dining (I realize that this is very hard to get now). When we came in 2013 we stayed at All Star Music in one of their suites. This was fine for our family at the time but now we have added two more little ones. This seems to leave me with very few options. The All Star Music & Art of Animation suites state that they can sleep up to 6 adults. Not sure what that means for us since we have two adults and 6 children. Except for the campsites (which my wife would never approve), everything else onsite that would hold our family would be well out of our price range.


Does anyone have any suggestions? Any large families out there that have dealt with these same issues?

Mark
 
Large family here. We love camping so staying at the campsites in our trailer is a no brainer. There are lots of options though for larger families. Unfortunately part of having a larger family is understanding that your family size is not the norm so you have to think outside of the box. The family suites and cabins were always out for us because we are a family of 7. Your cheapest option would be two rooms in a value. You would get two bathrooms and four full size beds. You could do two rooms at a moderate which would also give you two bathrooms but you would get a little more space and four queen beds. You could rent DVC points and do a two bedroom villa. Lots of options.
 
You might try booking 2 standard rooms in a Value resort.
Check the price on the Disney site for 1 Adult + 3 Children. Double that amount for the actual cost.
You may need to make 2 separate reservations (each with a different Adult name).
You can link everyone in the group in the Family/Friends section of the MyDisney Experience site.
 
Large family here. We love camping so staying at the campsites in our trailer is a no brainer. There are lots of options though for larger families. Unfortunately part of having a larger family is understanding that your family size is not the norm so you have to think outside of the box. The family suites and cabins were always out for us because we are a family of 7. Your cheapest option would be two rooms in a value. You would get two bathrooms and four full size beds. You could do two rooms at a moderate which would also give you two bathrooms but you would get a little more space and four queen beds. You could rent DVC points and do a two bedroom villa. Lots of options.

Thanks for your response! Where can you rent DVC points? How does that work. I am not familiar with that process.
 
You might try booking 2 standard rooms in a Value resort.
Check the price on the Disney site for 1 Adult + 3 Children. Double that amount for the actual cost.
You may need to make 2 separate reservations (each with a different Adult name).
You can link everyone in the group in the Family/Friends section of the MyDisney Experience site.

Do the standard rooms in the value resorts come with mini fridges and microwaves?
 
Do the standard rooms in the value resorts come with mini fridges and microwaves?

The standard rooms do not come with microwaves but they do come with mini fridges. Also values do not have coffee pots either. The value suites do have microwaves and coffee pots.

I see someone else already answered about DVC rental points.
 


Our families are pretty similar. At the time of travel, we will have 16, 14, 13 y/o boys, a 9 and 2.5 y/o girl and 14 month old boy.
My parents are also coming to help out! And we're all hoping for the free dining. My teen boys are athletes already over 6' 170+ and can literally eat all.day.long.
We are planning on traveling in early Dec '17 (flexible dates to try and snag free dining).

I priced everything possible- renting DVA points, 2 rooms at value & mod, suites, cabins, etc.

The best value for us was free dining & 2 rooms at Coronado. A value resort would only get us the quick serve dining & then we would need to upgrade or pay out of pocket.
I planned each meal, checked the menus and priced it out to be sure lol! I included everything - Every penny we would need, from gas to spending money to tips! Our final price is $7550.

-The cheapest DVC rental was about $1500 more (value 2bdrm AK, the standard 2 at AK was $1900 more)
-The value & mod came out equal, factoring in upgrading the free dining, and the value was actually more expensive if we paid out of pocket for the difference in food
-offsite was about $1000 more since we had to pay for food (even with discounted tickets and not hopping)
-room only was more, even with a 20% discount (not even sure if that would be out just checked in case)

I should note - we don't camp so I didn't check out RVs or the campsites! And we aren't willing to do more than snacks & coffee in our room on a Disney vacation, so if you are, your numbers could be different!
HTH
 
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I have to ask, have you been somewhere that's easier for a family your size? I would think finding affordable accommodations would always be tricky.

That's said, 2 rooms at a value resort would be large enough for you. Or as previously mentioned, you can rent DVC points too.
 
We went with a family last year that has 6 kids and they camped at Ft. Wilderness while we stayed in the cabins. We all had an absolute blast and created many memories. It was their first stay and though it was pricey, they saved for a couple years to join us as we go every year and they knew that. They bought non-hoppers and also did more resort days mixed in with the park days. Stretching a budget in Disney is possible if you take the time to figure it out! We went for 10 days :)

edited to add all of their kids but 1 are Disney 'adults' and we have 3 Disney 'adults' so I hear you on price :)
 
We're I guess what some would consider a large family. It depends on what resort you're looking at. We've looked into offsite....such as renting a house, but we've always found it to be a bit cheaper to just stay onsite. Plus you have the added advantages like you've mentioned. We enjoyed not having to drive back and forth to the parks, eating options at the resorts, etc. You can book 2 connecting...we did this for the trip we took this year with my MIL. Definitely nice having that extra space.
 
Life in general is harder in lots of ways for larger families - I know as I grew up in one! Yes, the rewards are great, but each additional family member will automatically add cost to anything you plan to do, or where you plan to go.

Camping is generally the most cost effective way to travel with families regardless of size. We always camped with our children (2) starting with a very small trailer and working up through the years. There is extra work involved, but we have always enjoyed it. That was the only way we could vacation as a family.

Good luck with your decision, and hope you can find what works for your family to enjoy Disney.
 
OP, going in with the attitude that Disney is making it hard for you may not give you the best experience. I'm sure you don't mean it's Disney's fault that you decided to have a large family. And it's admirable that you've taken in foster kids too. I'm assuming you have permission to take the foster kids on this vacation - do they have a monetary stipend that would help you with your budget?

I vote for an offsite condo (although you'd need a big rental car) if money is an issue. It costs a lot for 8 people to go anywhere, though I'm sure you've figured that out. But at a condo you can make cheap meals, have multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, etc.
 
We took five to one cabin at Fort Wilderness then also booked the cabin next door with five plus a baby. They have fully stocked kitchen and mousekeeping will wash your dishes if you want. :) We felt this moderate was such fun that we would not consider another place for our large family for the future. Magic kingdom was a boat ride away and there is a lot to do on the property.
 
We've stayed at a Grand Villa, but you could also do a 2 bedroom. Then you have a full kitchen which saves money as well!
 
Have you thought about camping? There are places that rent trailers that will set them up and take down at end of stay. Usually include everything you need. A lot of trailers have slide outs so they are a lot bigger inside now. Plus will give you a chance to spend time outside relaxing while at resort if you want. https://www.google.com/url?url=http...disney&usg=AFQjCNGaRWX7RGwbqh3EpfBqFIPnOU6UMA
All 3 my kids have camped since they were infants. It's fun and a lot more cost effective sometimes then renting 2 rooms.
 
Do the standard rooms in the value resorts come with mini fridges and microwaves?
There isn't a microwave in the room, but I remember pop century having a microwave in the food court. I actually went down there a couple of times to pop a bag of popcorn.
 
There isn't a microwave in the room, but I remember pop century having a microwave in the food court. I actually went down there a couple of times to pop a bag of popcorn.
Also, I just want to mention that I stayed at Sheraton Vistana Villages last month (2 bedrooms, sleeps 8, 1000 square feet, full kitchen) for less than $150 a night and my family absolutely loved it. The location was very close Disney Springs, but yes, you lose some of the magic when you stay off site, but I can't think of a better place to stay for the price.
 
Have you thought about camping? There are places that rent trailers that will set them up and take down at end of stay. Usually include everything you need. A lot of trailers have slide outs so they are a lot bigger inside now. Plus will give you a chance to spend time outside relaxing while at resort if you want. https://www.google.com/url?url=http...disney&usg=AFQjCNGaRWX7RGwbqh3EpfBqFIPnOU6UMA
All 3 my kids have camped since they were infants. It's fun and a lot more cost effective sometimes then renting 2 rooms.

Camping may be a good option. We are booked to stay at Fort Wilderness in July. We've rented a camper that sleeps 8 (there are 4 of us) and booked a full hookup site. We have air conditioning, and all the equipment we could possibly need. There is nothing we need to do other than enjoy it. The company we've booked through set it up and then remove it. It also gives us options as far as meals go and the opportunity to save a little money as we don't have to eat out every breakfast and lunch. And we are still onsite which gives us the Disney benefits as far as FP+ and EMH. I'm known as the 'camping grinch' here at home but I'm actually really looking forward to it.

Alternatively, a vacation home is also a great way to go. We've done this on 3 occassions staying at Windsor Hills each time. Loved it there. Of course you would have parking fees to park at WDW but for what you save and the space it gives you, its a great option. Our last trip was August 2012 and a 6 bedroom pool home cost us under $2000 for 12 nights.
 

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